The Football Diner Big Top 5
Assessing the Trends from the NFL Season so far
by Jody Jamieson
23/10/2007
 
Scotland's keenest eye observes 5 trends in the NFL season so far…
 
Diana Ross is the most recent of many to make a wee bit of money out of singing "What a Difference a Day Makes" but in the NFL it's doesn't always take 24 little hours for the greatest season to fall flat on it's face, or for the most uninspiring team in the league to force a change in their fortunes. Sometimes it's just one simple play. Be it a huge touchdown pass or run, a clutch defensive play, or even the bit of luck you've missed that comes back in a big way when the opposition does something ludicrously silly. This week we'll be looking at "What a Difference a Play Makes" for my Top Fives list.
 
5. Houston Texans - Andre Johnson gets injured against Carolina, week 2
One injury shouldn't shape a season for the worst, but Andre Johnson has become such an important part of the Texans offense that to put it bluntly, they can't live without him. He burned Kansas City in Week 1 with a 77 yard TD reception, and was having his own personal duel with Steve Smith to see who could toast the opposition secondary the most in Week 2. In the end Smith scored 3 touchdowns to Johnson's 2 as the Texans wideout went down with an injury that has kept him out of the last five games, and the simple maths is that with number 80 they are 2-0. Without they are 1-4. Other guys are stepping up like Andre Davis and Kevin Walter but none of them have the consistent big play potential that Johnson has. This looked like being the year that Houston could really make a run at the wildcard but with Ahman Green sitting out a few games, and the possibility that Matt Schaub could be out of action for a while, then things could get even uglier than they have been for Houston.
 
4. Philadelphia Eagles - second muffed punt vs Packers, week 1
Like a lot of these plays, they have had a big impact on both teams, and have come on special teams. The first muffed punt which gave away a touchdown was bad enough, but the straw that broke the camel's back was the second one in the game which set the tone for the whole season. J.R. Reed and the Packers picked up on the Eagles 31 and ran the clock down to allow Mason Crosby to kick the winning field goal. The play was also big for the Packers who were largely uninspiring and gave them a win that wasn't widely predicted, setting them up for what thus far has been an excellent year. In fact, the Eagles have shot themselves in the foot so many times this season, it was hard to pick one play. With the Winston Justice 'Massacre in the Meadowlands' and a horror show on Monday Night football against the Redskins, letting Chicago go 97 yards with no timeouts in week 7 is almost par for the course. The funny thing is that if the Eagles had held on for the win, perhaps the play on 4th down against the Jets when Sheldon Brown broke up Chad Pennington's pass to Coles in the end zone to keep a 7 point lead a week before would have made this list, as the Eagles would be sitting 3-3 and in with a chance. At 2-4, and with the way they are playing in the red zone however, it's unlikely they'll make the post season now, and they've got no-one to blame but themselves.
 
3. New Orleans Saints - Botched punt snap returned for a TD vs. Seahawks, week 6
While the Saints had played poor football through four games, like any struggling team sometimes all you need is a break. And after an excellent 3 and out stop on the Seahawks offense to start the game, they got the break they desperately needed. After Boone Stutz's first long snap as a Seahawk gave punter Ryan Plackenmeier no chance as it bounced in front of him, and a crazy scramble where no-one seemed to want the ball ensued, Pierre Thomas finally took control and scored the touchdown. Add on to that the fact that Matt Hasselbeck was almost taken out by a SNF camera, and Shaun Alexander copped a lot of flak from the Qwest Field crowd, and it really wasn't a night to remember for the Seahawks. If the Saints do make a run at their division, and in the NFC South it's far from improbable, they'll remember this night. That play seemed to flick a switch and with Drew Brees coming onto the field for the first time in the game with a lead, he looked settled in the pocket and has had two pretty good showings in his last two appearances against the Seahawks and admittedly hapless Atlanta. Granted, he's not back to 06 form, but he's getting there. Reggie Bush is finally starting to carry the load a lot better, and with the defense playing much better than they had and not giving up touchdowns on plays beginning 70 yards from their end zone anymore, perhaps this season will not be the bust that it looked to be before their bye week. Dare I say it, they may still have a shot, at 2-4, in a division which sees Carolina at 4-2 top of the pile.
 
2. San Diego Chargers - KO fumble return for a TD in Denver to go 14-0 up, week 5
In this game, Philip Rivers gave the Chargers a 7-0 lead on the slowest two yard run I've ever seen. Amazingly, it was still the first quarter when he finished the run. With the Broncos about to get possession of the ball again I was interested to see what the Chargers could do defensively. However after a fumble on the kickoff return, rookie linebacker Brandon Siler recovered the fumble and took it back to the house, and since that play the Chargers have not looked back, outscoring their opponents 55-17 and finally looking like the Chargers of 06. Sometimes it can be that little spark that can wipe away all the bad stuff from before. And boy it had been bad. The season started there for San Diego and suddenly Norv Turner can rest a little easier after making Marty Schottenheimer look like Vince Lombardi in the first four weeks. Look out for San Diego. They look back in business. And remember that fumble was where the momentum shifted back in their favour and the Gods of fate decided enough was enough for the underachieving Bolts.
 
1. New York Giants - 4th and 1 stop vs Redskins, week 3
The New York Giants secondary decided to the take Keystone Cops route to defending in the first two weeks, letting Tony Romo and Brett Favre absolutely burn them in Weeks 1 and 2. Things looked no better through the first half against the Washington Redskins as Jason Campbell and Clinton Portis continued to take apart a woefully underachieving Giants defense. Michael Strahan was taking stick for pretending to consider retirement as a way to get out of training camp, and despite the fact that Eli Manning was starting to look like the leader, Tiki Barber suggested he would never be, and they looked like stinking out the NFC East. Tom Coughlin was threatening to spontaneously combust on live TV until the Giants rallied on both sides of the ball to take a 24-17 lead in FedExField. However nothing is ever simple for the the blue half of New York, and with the defense looking fatigued, they were on their way to undoing all their good work as Campbell led the Skins into the red zone. First, 3rd and goal from the 1 and a running play is snuffed out. Then Campbell quickly brings them to the line and 4th and 1 from about 4 and a half feet is stuffed after another unsuccessful run. All of a sudden the Giants had a win on the board. They've never looked back and used Donovan McNabb as tackling practice in the Meadowlands 7 days later. Eli continues to perform fairly well, hooking up with the practice-shy Plaxico Burress 8 times, and with the D supporting them well, including Strahan who is chasing down anything that moves again, the Giants have won five in a row and show no signs of slowing down as they prepare for the international game at Wembley. Early reports that Tom Coughlin is close to cracking a smile have been quickly dismissed as claptrap.
 
Interesting fact
 
What do Tavaris Jackson and Joey Harrington have in common? They have both thrown two touchdown passes to Vikings players this season. Joey was picked off twice in the opening week in Minnesota and both were returned to the end zone. Jackson on the other hand only has two touchdown passes on the year. One to Sidney Rice against Green Bay and the other in Week 1 against the Falcons on a screen to Adrian Peterson.
 
And finally...
 
Everyone knows that Devin Hester is the most dangerous kick returner in football, but what about him as a wide receiver? I sometimes wonder if the Chicago Bears realise what a danger he is as an all round football player. Sure, he's new to the system of playing wideout, and despite Mushin Muhammad having to burn a timeout because Hester didn't have a clue what he was meant to be doing this week, he is proving a big threat as a receiver. A massive touchdown reception against the Vikings was followed up by 3 catches for 41 yards against Philadelphia. Only an excellent piece of coverage by Sheldon Brown kept him scoreless this week.
 
However with the running game spluttering with Cedric Benson and the poor man's Adrian Peterson getting little going on the ground, is it worth at least trying to employ Hester as a tailback? The biggest quality of a kick returner is the ability to find a hole and hit it for a big gain. Surely Lovie Smith and his co-ordinators can find the imagination to come up with some plays to use him effectively in the backfield! It'd be interesting to see Devin Hester being used like Reggie Bush in New Orleans, and have him appear in every position: halfback, wide, and in the slot. Let's face it, it's not as if Benson and Peterson are playing well enough that it isn't worth experimenting with in practice.